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How China’s Soft Power Strategy Emerges

How China’s Soft Power Strategy Emerges. Domestic changes in China lead to pressure for a more proactive foreign policy Chinese leadership more engaged with the world Failure of more aggressive mid-1990s policies Impact of Asian financial crisis and beginning of American soft power decline.

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How China’s Soft Power Strategy Emerges

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  1. How China’s Soft Power Strategy Emerges • Domestic changes in China lead to pressure for a more proactive foreign policy • Chinese leadership more engaged with the world • Failure of more aggressive mid-1990s policies • Impact of Asian financial crisis and beginning of American soft power decline

  2. Components of Chinese Strategy • Leverage Rhetoric on Cooperation/Noninterference • Pragmatism • Born-again multilateralist • Focus on countries where US bilateral relationship is faltering; outreach to developing nations • China as a model for developing nations

  3. Chinese Tools of Influence • More sophisticated development assistance • Better public diplomacy –media, informal summitry, visitor programming, Chinese Peace Corps • More skilled formal diplomacy • Outreach to ethnic Chinese in SE Asia • Promotion of Chinese language and culture studies • Promotion of China’s future potential for outward investment • Leveraging FTAs • Outmigration to northern SE Asia

  4. Decline of US soft power in SE Asia • Financial crisis blowback • Focus on counterterrorism • The war in Iraq • Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo: US no longer viewed as lawful actor • Decline of multilateralism • Decrease in public diplomacy resources • Changing regional economic models • Visa policies • Decline of US corporate brand appeal

  5. Potential Chinese goals • Stability on the perimeter • Economic development and trade • Perceptions of China as benign actor • Control of waterways? • Reducing Taiwan’s and Japan’s influence • Access to resources • A Chinese Monroe Doctrine?

  6. Matrices of Chinese Success • Perceptions of China as benign/ Perceptions of Chinese economic growth • Public opinion polling • Interest in Chinese language and culture • Reception of Chinese elites • Interest in China’s model of development • Perceptions of SE Asian Chinese • Access to resources • Taiwan increasingly excluded • China using influence to persuade

  7. Impact on the region and on US interests • Positive: China becomes regional leader by mediating disputes • Positive: China takes lead on nontraditional transnational issues • Positive: China prods regional free trade • Negative: China exporting its labor and environmental practices • Negative: Chinese aid undermining tying of aid to better governance, and US influence over authoritarian nations: Weakens US promotion of democratization and good governance • Negative: China could eventually use influence to push back at American relationships in SE Asia • Negative: Potential structures in the region exclude US

  8. Potential US strategies • Blowback against China? • US still enjoys major assets • One FSO per embassy focuses only on Chinese activities on the ground • Better public diplomacy • Rethinking visa policies and sanctions • Using the whole US bench • Leveraging US values

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